Psychological Warfare
by Amiyuu
Summary: Just because they were smaller than the rest, did not mean that they should be feared any less. In a sport where brawn outweighs nearly everything, it is, in fact, the ones with the brains who were the real kings. AkaKuro and why they were held in such awe. ONESHOT.


**Hi again! I've been on a roll these past few days, and my mind just won't leave me in peace. Personally, I think this story isn't really my best, but then again, any writer would feel that way. I hope that you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think so that I can work on my writing! **

**Image Source: post/28996395276**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or its characters. Only the following story is mine. (T^T)**

* * *

The Generation of Miracles was feared and admired for more reasons than their basketball prowess. All five of the regular players stood out for various reasons. The first was the incredible height of all, save the captain. The second was their outstandingly powerful auras that never failed to attract attention. Third, their toned physique that were commercial worthy. And fourth was the drive, and the ability, to crush almost anyone who stood in their way. Yet, as feared as they were, they weren't necessarily fearless. Though, to their credit, not much could faze this group of outstanding achievers. But even the strongest man was susceptible to some weakness. Therefore, it was only natural that the most admired group of athletes in Teiko was afraid of only two things. Or rather, two people.

The demon overlord and their phantom player.

Any outsider would understand the awe they held for their captain. After all, he was hardly easy to miss despite his short stature. His aura and his appearance stood out above the others and marked him out in a sea of people. The surprise would be when they learn that the person more feared than the redhead captain – it is whispered that even the fearful captain of the Generation of Miracles held a certain amount of respect for him – was none other than the person who was often overlooked. Kuroko Tetsuya was unassuming. His appearance, despite being of a rather shocking nature, somehow managed to blend into the background. His monotonous way of speaking and his permanently unruffled expression didn't help him stand out either.

* * *

Kise groaned as some parts of his body that he had assumed were not meant to be bent popped loudly as he collapsed unceremoniously onto a bench. He was followed by three more of his teammates, all drenched in sweat as they too, dropped onto the bench and the floor. All four of them were panting hard, their sweat making their clothes stick uncomfortably to their bodies. Aomine tugged his shirt over the top of his head with a grunt and fell backwards to lie sprawled on the ground, the singular action had made him exert more effort that he was capable of at the moment.

The source of their exhaustion was in the form of their tyrant of a captain who had, on a whim, decided that their already rigorous menus had to be tripled. Fifteen laps around the school grounds, three hundred pushups, six hundred skips, and ninety minutes of planking later, even the strongest of the group was ready to toss in the towel.

"Maaaaan," Kise whined between huffs of breaths. "Akashicchi went a bit overboard today."

"What you talking about, 'a bit'?" Aomine muttered as best as he could with his heart trying to crush his ribcage from the inside. "He just went into full-blown demon mode."

"Ah, are you guys done?" The said devil asked, appearing from the locker room. Midorima barely managed a raised hand to show that they were done.

Murasakibara's vision was suddenly clouded with a tuft of blue hair and he stared into Kuroko's blank eyes as the latter bent over him to pop a lollipop into his mouth. He nodded almost imperceptibly to show his appreciation. Kuroko left his side and began tossing towels to his teammates who were too tired to even condone the idea of having to take a shower. A dark head lifted slightly off the floor of the basketball court. Midnight eyes stared daggers at the petite figure of one of the only two people there who was not sweating buckets.

"Where were you?" Aomine demanded, making Kuroko pause in the midst of handing a bottle of water to Kise. "Don't you spew that crap about being there the whole time."

Kuroko turned and blue eyes locked with his. "I was helping Momoi-san with some accounting that she needed to do."

Four pairs of eyes turned to their captain who didn't seem the least bit surprised or offended. Before the fuming ace could speak, there was a long sigh from the blonde.

"If only Akashicchi would give us a break~" He said wistfully while he stared at the ceiling overhead.

"Don't be stupid," Akashi snapped. "The tournament is only a month away."

"Tch, we'll crush all of them anyway, it's not like we need to do three times our usual menu." Aomine managed to roll onto his side and curled up into a fetal position, letting out a satisfied groan as his spine cracked with the stretching. Expecting a rebuttal, he was surprised to receive only silence in answer to his statement.

He turned his head as far as his neck would allow and was met with the sight of his captain looking thoughtfully at Tetsu. Both seemed to share some sort of telepathic link and it wasn't even strange anymore to see them staring at each other, one with an impassive face and the other with expressions ranging from annoyed to delighted while they spoke in a way that was only heard by them. The redhead's current look of concentration was scarier than his usual smirk, because when Akashi got thoughtful, things got _painful_ for his subordinates.

"Okay."

Four of them looked up in surprise at the statement.

"Okay?" Midorima asked, cautiously.

"Okay, you get a day off," Akashi said, uncharacteristically nonchalant. He even _shrugged._

Kise's head shot up suddenly to stare wide-eyed at him. "We _do_?"

"Ask me again and I'll change my mind." Akashi retorted, obviously annoyed.

"No, no, no need for that." The blonde replied hastily.

With a nod that signified that that was the end of the conversation, Akashi turned on his heels and left them to go discuss something with Momoi who was at the other end of the court speaking with some second string members. The regulars that remained watched him leave, not really believing that they had gotten a day off so easily. All eyes turned to the unofficial right hand man of their leader.

"Is he messing with us?" Aomine asked, disbelievingly.

"It does not appear so." Kuroko replied.

"He isn't going to secretly kill us all in our sleep, is he?" Kuroko turned confused eyes towards the blonde. He always had a flare for the dramatic.

"Why would he want to do that?" He questioned with a slightly puzzled frown.

"Ah… Kurokocchi wouldn't understand." Kise said with a laugh and pushed himself onto his feet. He bent over to grab the towel that had fallen to the floor and headed towards the locker room.

"Let's go somewhere tomorrow, guys!" He threw over his shoulder just before he disappeared into the locker room.

**The next day **

"Aominecchi~!" Aomine wanted to punch the blonde who was waving excitedly from the bus stop. He stood with Murasakibara who was half way through a jumbo bag of chips and Midorima who was holding a small pink teddy bear in his left hand. Aomine noted with a grin that they were really an odd group. He dropped his grin when it dawned on him that these clowns were the people he was going to be spending his day with.

The tanned ace hadn't even wanted to go out in the first place; he had wanted to go check out the new movie with Tetsu. However, when he had informed the ditzy model of his intentions, the latter had immediately latched onto the plan and hand invited himself and the rest of the regulars along.

Though, Tetsu had apologized and told him that he had a prior engagement and Akashi hadn't even bothered to pick up his phone, so their entourage had been reduced to just the four of them.

Aomine joined his teammates at the bus stop, ignoring the varied looks that their group received. The quartet waited in silence for the bus to arrive, all of them secretly in pain from the day before, but not willing to admit to it.

They took the bus down into the city centre, a whole two hours away, and stopped by the movie theater to buy tickets for the new blockbuster film that was showing. Since the next show was at 2pm, they decided to have lunch beforehand.

As they walked through the streets looking for a place to eat, Kise came to a sudden halt, staring intently at a window of one of the cafes that was popular with couples. His friends, used to his strange antics, thought nothing of it and kept on walking when they heard a loud exclamation. Their heads whipped around to be met with the sight of their rookie member practically jumping on the spot with dismay while jabbing a finger with a horrified expression at the shop's window.

Annoyed, Midorima went to drag the embarrassment of a boy away before more people started noticing the scene he was making, but paled when he shot an inquisitive look at the café window. He froze in his tracks and dropped his lucky item in shock, mouth agape.

His reaction was much more severe, as the green-haired shooter was someone who disliked showing expression. For him to be shocked into such a state was rare, and the two remaining members of the regular team rushed over to look at what it was that had Midorima looking like an idiot.

Murasakibara's mouth went lax, and he dropped the chip that he had been in the middle of putting into his mouth, and Aomine's expression was caught somewhere in between disbelief and outrage.

Through the café window, in a corner and as though lost in their own world, were the two members of the Generation of Miracles that had been missing that day. They sat opposite each other at a small, round table and there was a huge vanilla shake in between them. The small detail that had freaked all four of those outside the café – even more so than seeing their captain with their phantom player _alone, together _- was that there was only one straw in the shake.

Only. One. Straw.

#$%^&*

The purple-haired giant had to hook his arms over Aomine's to stop the ace from charging in like a bull and dragging Kuroko out and away from the devil that had, without doubt, forced the blue-eyed boy to accompany him with threats.

The group ducked out of sight when a waitress appeared with another drink – a strawberry milkshake – and Akashi looked up with a curt nod when she set it down in front of him. This mollified them somewhat, but their chagrin returned when Kuroko said something with a small tilt of his lips and Akashi burst out into laughter while darting a casual glance at the spot above where his teammates were hiding.

"Do they know we're here?" Kise voiced the question on all their minds.

"I don't think so," Midorima muttered in reply. He peeped through the legs of the table against the window and stared at the redhead who looked as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself. Who knew Akashi could have _fun_? "I think they're just having lunch together."

"Just having lunch?" Aomine growled, eyes narrowed at the odd couple they were spying on. "The jackass probably forced Tetsu along. That's why he wouldn't answer his phone earlier; he knew we'd be here!"

Outrageous as his theory was, the others had to admit that Akashi did have the strange ability to know _everything _about everyone. Especially when you didn't want him to.

Aware of the looks that they were attracting, Midorima quickly herded his friends away from the window. They stood in front of the next store in a loose circle, undecided about what to do. Aomine was about to blow.

"Screw this, I'm going to get Tetsu out of there!" He announced, and before anyone could stop him, he whipped out his phone and began to dial his shadow's number, hitting the keys a bit more viciously than was required. He held the phone up to his ear, foot tapping impatiently while the rest just looked on interestedly. The phone rang, and rang, and rang, and when he thought it was going to go into voicemail there was a click on the other end.

"What do you want, Daiki?" He snapped. Aomine's expression turned confused. Tetsu never called him by his first name. And he never snapped. Ever.

"Tetsu?" He asked, unusually hesitant. There was silence for a while.

"He's currently occupied. Just go watch your movie and leave him alone." The line went dead. Terrified dark blue eyes stared at the phone in his hand.

"Daiki." He said, as though in a daze.

"What?" Kise frowned, bemused.

"He… called me Daiki." The ace looked up to meet eyes that were as shocked as his probably were. "Akashi answered Tetsu's phone."

No one, not even his light, had ever had the privilege of handling Kuroko's phone. He was strangely possessive about it, and would apologize profusely if anyone asked to borrow it. But he'd never, ever, let anyone use his phone.

Their day off was getting a little bit crazy.

The Generation of Miracles ended up eating at a restaurant opposite the café where they had spotted Akashi and Kuroko, all the while keeping an eye on the entrance, waiting for them to appear. When the pair finally walked out, the four of them instinctively ducked their heads, even though they were aware that no one could see them unless they were pressed up against the window of the shop.

They watched as the two began walking away, Akashi doing all the talking while Kuroko nodded occasionally. They hastily finished off their food and paid the bill, darting out to follow the two smallest of the basketball team. The pair stopped before a bookstore and Akashi gestured to show that he wanted to go in.

Their teammates stood outside, unsure if they should enter as well, as it would be hard to be inconspicuous in a small store. They settled on buying ice cream at a nearby stall, eyes trailed on the door as they ate the cold dessert without really tasting anything, which was just as well, because the Mango and Sweet Potato ice cream that Midorima had randomly grabbed would have had anyone else's stomach in an upheaval.

It was some time, and five ice cream sticks consumed by Murasakibara, later that the people they were trailing appeared again, this time bearing bags. They moved on to the arcade, and Midorima had a moment of clarity in which he questioned why he was part of this insane group and why they were following people whom he didn't even _like_ before Kise grabbed his upper arm and tugged him along.

Four heads of various colours peeked around the corners of the entrance to the arcade, much to the shock of the kids who were nearby. They spotted their query near the back of the shop at a machine with a basketball hoop attached to the top of it and four or five basketballs that would roll down the slope as a soon as they went through the basket. Akashi was poised to throw while Kuroko stood next to him and passed him the basketballs so fast that all that was visible were orange blurs.

In the three minutes allocated, the pair had managed to score nearly a thousand points, and there were loud claps and cheers at the beep signaling the end of the round. Akashi looked displeased – probably because he hadn't managed to hit the thousand mark – while Kuroko simply looked… well, like Kuroko. Despite not being able to achieve Akashi's target, the shop owner produced a large toy dog and handed it almost reverently to the redhead who nodded condescendingly at him and promptly turned to leave the shop.

Outside, while his fellow members of the basketball team looked on from behind strategically placed potted plants, he brandished the dog and handed it to Kuroko with a small smirk. The latter accepted it with a happy grin and clutched it to his chest. The sheer cuteness that seemed to overflow from the smaller boy had the others digging their fingers into tree trunks to prevent themselves from exposing their group and being murdered.

As the two walked away – Kuroko was practically waddling while he tried to peer over the toy dog he held in his arms – Akashi reached into his pocket and pulled out a device that looked very much like his blue-haired companion's and typed something quickly before pocketing the thing again.

Moments later, Aomine's phone buzzed. He pulled it out, not surprised to see that it was from Tetsu's phone, and opened the message.

"Don't you have a movie to catch?" He read aloud, making everyone stop in their tracks while they stared at the device in his hand as though it was something completely alien to them. True enough, when Midorima checked his watch, it was already 1.50pm and they debated on whether they should go for the movie or keep on following the pair.

Midorima pointed out that following them would bring them nothing but pain, seeing as their captain already knew what they were doing. Also, since they had already bought their tickets, it would be a waste to not watch the movie. Kise and Aomine reluctantly agreed, and they joined the throng of people who were waiting to watch the same show.

Throughout the movie, none of the Generation of Miracles was paying attention to what was happening on screen. Each of them were running through different scenarios in their minds which would explain why Kuroko had gone out with the resident demon on what was, effectively, _a date_.

The thought haunted them all the way into the night and all of them spent at least a few hours tossing in their beds while they pondered over the implications of their actions.

**The next day**

Four members of the basketball team trudged tiredly into the gym after school hours were over. They had hardly gotten any sleep, their minds had been whirling with the events of the day before. In contrast, Akashi and Kuroko appeared looking well rested. The captain took one glance at his subordinates and calmly announced that their training menu was tripled for the day. They still found it in them to protest.

"When I gave you the day off, I didn't say that you wouldn't have to replace the time lost," He said in answer to their arguments. This silenced them for a while.

"Even so, you don't have to triple the menu! We only missed a day, double would be enough." Aomine argued. He was still somewhat sore from their intense workout two days before. Coupled with lack of sleep, he was cranky and wasn't in any mood to exercise.

"Oh, the third round is for your actions yesterday." Akashi flashed them a smile. "Did you think I'd let you off so easily for following Tetsuya and I like a bunch of moronic spy wannabes?"

Pleading eyes turned to the phantom player who merely blinked at them.

"You shouldn't have gotten caught," he told them flatly, no hint of sympathy in his voice.

"And since we're on the topic," the captain joined in with an evil grin. "Tetsuya and I have restructured your training menu, so your new menu will be double what it was before. You can thank him for coming up with the idea."

As they stared after the retreating back of the accursed redhead, they heard Kuroko say pleasantly, "I hope you enjoyed that movie yesterday."


End file.
